Manassas National Battlefield Park

About

Manassas National Battlefield Park preserves the ground where Confederate and Union troops fought the First and Second Battles of Manassas in 1861 and 1862. The Henry Hill Visitor Center is the starting point for most visits, with a small museum and a battle map program. It also shows a 45-minute film called "Manassas: End of Innocence." Rangers give talks near the visitor center on a regular schedule.

From Henry Hill, a paved walking route covers the core of the first battle. It passes monuments and cannon positions near the site of the Stone House. Visitors who want to cover more ground can drive the park's tour road to stops such as Stone Bridge and Chinn Ridge, each with a short trail. Stone Bridge Trail is a paved path that is mostly flat before a steep grade near the bridge itself. Chinn Ridge Trail runs over compacted dirt rather than pavement. A gently rolling paved path also loops through the Brownsville Picnic Area, which has a covered pavilion and tables with extended tops.

A visit built around the visitor center and Henry Hill can run one to two hours. Adding two or three of the outlying tour stops turns it into a half-day trip, since the stops sit several miles apart along the tour road and most people drive between them rather than walk.

The park sits on Sudley Road in Manassas, Virginia, about 30 miles west of Washington, D.C. It is close to the town of Manassas and its historic downtown, and it borders newer subdivisions that have grown up around the battlefield since the National Park Service began preserving the land.

Accessibility

Manassas National Battlefield Park is wheelchair accessible at its main hub, the Henry Hill Visitor Center, though accessibility varies once you leave that area. The visitor center lot has six accessible parking spaces. Park Headquarters has two more, and Stone Bridge, Hazel Plain, Stone House and Brawner Farm each have designated accessible parking near their trailheads.

A ramp to the right of the visitor center stairs leads up to the entrance, and a button next to the doors activates power-assisted opening. Past the entrance, the information desk is on the left and all exhibits sit on the first floor, so there are no stairs inside the museum itself.

Getting around Henry Hill is manageable in dry weather; the park describes the ground near the visitor center as fairly level for wheelchair or mobility-device use. Conditions change at the other stops. The Stone Bridge Trail is paved and mostly flat until a steep climb near the bridge. The Stone House Trail and the Brawner Farm Trail are both short paved paths, while the Chinn Ridge Trail is compacted dirt. The Brownsville Picnic Area loop is a gently rolling paved path.

Restrooms at the visitor center are in the basement. There is no elevator, so wheelchair users reach them by an exterior flagstone sidewalk that wraps around the building to a back ramp, or by an interior staircase if stairs work for you. Restrooms at Park Headquarters are accessible, and Brownsville Picnic Area has accessible stalls.

The visitor center keeps a standard wheelchair for indoor and paved-area use, plus two all-terrain wheelchairs available daily for Henry Hill. The orientation film is captioned and audio described, with devices for audio description or assistive listening available at the desk on request, for the film and for ranger talks. Wheelchair seating is reserved at the front and rear of the auditorium, and the park's "Manassas Story" booklet comes in large print. Trained service dogs are welcome anywhere visitors go; the park treats emotional-support animals as pets.

Call ahead about ground conditions after rain, since the Henry Hill all-terrain wheelchairs need dry footing. The park does not publish anything on braille signage, sign language interpretation, or shuttle transportation, so call 703-361-1339 to check before relying on those.

Checked by Accessible America, August 2026. Report a change

More accessible places in Virginia

• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
• Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park (Fredericksburg)
• Appomattox Court House National Historical Park (Appomattox)
• Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial (Arlington)
• Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park (Middletown)
• Colonial National Historical Park (Yorktown)

Photo credits

• Canada geese graze near the historic Henry House and cannons at Manassas National Battlefield Park.: Sj2z, CC BY-SA 3.0 (source)
• Manassas National Battlefield Park official National Park Service image: National Park Service, Public domain (U.S. National Park Service)
• All-terrain wheelchairs at Henry Hill from the official Manassas National Battlefield Park accessibility page.: National Park Service, Public domain (U.S. National Park Service)
• The Henry House entrance and porch stand beside a stone battle monument at Manassas.: Sj2z, CC BY-SA 3.0 (source)
• A brick memorial pyramid rises behind a split rail fence at Manassas National Battlefield Park.: PrashantAphale, CC BY-SA 3.0 (source)